


Detention in the Forbidden Forest

by iwant2baweasley (becboobear)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Community: rarepair_shorts, F/M, Trick or Treat 2012
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-13
Updated: 2015-12-13
Packaged: 2018-05-06 11:05:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5414474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becboobear/pseuds/iwant2baweasley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the final night of their detention in the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid, Neville, Ginny and Luna are attacked by dementors.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Detention in the Forbidden Forest

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Trick or Treat 2012 at [rarepair_shorts](http://rarepair-shorts.livejournal.com) on livejournal. My prompts were: Trick - Dementors; Treat - Pumpkin pasties; Location - Headmaster's Office

He was worried; very worried. He would never admit that aloud, though; especially not in front of the girls.  
  
Was this what it was like for Harry? Did worry eat away at him while he wore a brave face for the rest of them?  
  
Neville glanced at his ginger companion; her face was still white from the terror that had met them in the Forbidden Forest just moments before. He shifted his gaze to the blonde member of their detention party and saw that she looked paler than normal as well. He didn’t have to have a mirror to know his face showed the sign of the recent dementor attack, too.  
  
He shuddered at the memory.  
  
Their punishment for sneaking into the Headmaster’s Office and trying to steal Gryffindor’s sword had been a week of detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest. They had all considered the punishment laughable, especially during the first six evenings. They’d met up with Hagrid every night after dinner and spent the evening talking about Harry and the anti-Voldemort movement in hushed tones on the outskirts of the forest.  
  
That had all changed tonight. They’d actually had to go into the forest, because Hagrid had found a blood trail.  
  
Oh, how Neville wished they could have just ignored it, but Hagrid had insisted. He said there was something in there that was hurt and needed help.  
  
So they’d gone in, Hagrid leading them and Neville, himself, bringing up the rear; he’d wanted to keep the girls in his sight at all times. He’d been in the forest one time before and had never wanted to return; not even to get back at Malfoy, the stupid git.  
  
They’d walked for nearly thirty minutes before they’d run into the Centaurs, who’d been none too happy to see them, but Hagrid had managed to convince them that they’d meant no harm (though, none of the Centaurs looked like they’d actually believed him). It had been another ten to fifteen minutes before they’d happened upon Thestrals eating the remains of a medium-sized animal.  
  
Neville had been certain that the Thestrals’ dinner was the source of their bloody trail, but Hagrid had been convinced otherwise. With him leading, they’d pressed on, going deeper into the dark forest.  
  
Then it had happened. The air around them had gone icy cold and the crunchy leaves beneath their feet had begun to freeze and became slippery.  
  
Neville had realized what was happening before he’d even spotted the first dementor. The girls, too, it seemed, for all at once they all bellowed, “ _Expecto patronum!_ ”  
  
The dark forest had been filled with light as Ginny’s horse, Luna’s hare and his German Sheppard had sprung from their wands. The dementors had been forced back in the direction they’d come from.  
  
The detention party had not lingered. With Ginny’s horse leading them and Neville’s German Sheppard trailing them, they’d quickly made their way out of the forest.  
  
Once they’d reached the Hogwarts grounds, they’d gone to Hagrid’s hut for a quick pick-me-up. Ginny had poured them each a shot of Firewhiskey and Hagrid had unearthed some stale Pumpkin Pasties and a couple bits of chocolate. They’d sat there for nearly half an hour before Hagrid had insisted on walking them back up to the school.  
  
They’d said their goodbyes to Hagrid at the front doors and his parting words had been for them to go straight to their dormitories and not dawdle for they all knew how dangerous it was to be in the corridors during the daytime and it was even worse at night, especially if one was found alone.  
  
That was how Neville found himself walking through the silent castle with both Ginny and Luna. They had refused to let the Ravenclaw go to her tower alone. Neither he nor Ginny cared a bit that it raised the chance of them being caught out past curfew. Luna was their friend, their partner, and they weren’t going to let anything happen to her.  
  
It was a quarter til eleven when they reached the steps to Ravenclaw Tower. They then waited while Luna climbed the staircase and waited for her signal (a soft whistle) that she had gained entrance into the quiet common room.  
  
“I’m not ready to go back to Gryffindor Tower,” Ginny whispered as they walked away, a few moments later. “People will ask questions, Neville, and I’m not ready to answer them.”  
  
Neville nodded and took Ginny’s hand. Using all the secret passages he knew of, he led her up to the seventh floor and the Room of Requirement. Letting go of her hand, he passed in front of the wall three times, thinking that they needed a place to recover, and after the third pass, a set of doors appeared.  
  
Upon entering the room, they found a setup similar to the Gryffindor common room with a long sofa at the center of the room in front of a roaring fire. Walking over to the sofa, Neville kicked off his shoes and sat down, relaxing as the heat from the chased the remains of the dementor-induced chill that had taken over his body.  
  
He felt Ginny sit down next to him and felt her lay her head on his shoulder. So much responsibility was resting on their shoulders. The professors couldn’t help them; not if they wanted to keep their jobs anyway and Neville knew the students, especially the younger ones, needed the protection that their Hogwarts-loyal professors could provide. Therefore, the rebellion of the Voldemort-cronies had to be at the student level and Neville was bound and determined to give them hell.  
  
Ginny sighed against him and Neville tilted his head down to his partner in crime. They would get through this, he knew. Harry would take care of the battle outside of Hogwarts and they’d take care of the one inside the castle’s walls.  
  
With his head tilted, Neville meant to kiss Ginny’s forehead, but at the last second, she looked up and his chapped lips met her soft ones. They both froze, their lips still touching, but then she pressed harder against his lips.  
  
It was nothing like the kiss they’d shared three years ago under the mistletoe. That kiss had been a sloppy, nervous mess for the pair of them, which was to be expected for one’s first kiss. But with this kiss, Ginny proved that she had mastered the art of kissing and that she rather enjoyed it.  
  
Harry’s face flashed in front of Neville’s closed eyes and guilt filled his stomach. He knew that Harry loved Ginny and that Ginny loved Harry. They were two of his best friends; two of the people who liked him even though he had been a klutz who talked about herbology when he was nervous.  
  
With all the strength he could muster, Neville ended the kiss and wrapped his arms around Ginny, noticing for the first time that she was much too slender. He held her close as she cried; he knew it was only the dementor attack combined with the stress over Harry, Ron and Hermione that had broken through the thick wall she’d put around herself this year.  
  
They would get through this. All of them.  
  
Neville was sure of it.


End file.
